"No, it's not like that..."
Ah Yin murmured softly, but for a moment, she didn't know how to refute Su Cheng.
Only scenes from the past kept flashing in her mind.
Su Cheng hadn't said anything wrong; indeed, she hadn't seen much of the world.
Since birth, the only people she had known were Tang Xiao and Tang Hao.
Everything that followed was their shared experience.
Throughout this process, as the third sister, she had always passively accepted their guidance.
As the Spirit of the Hundred Thousand Year Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin was gentle and reserved by nature, not one for revelry, and seldom interacted with others.
All her experiences in the human world were observed from a bystander's perspective.
She thought she understood a lot, but she had never truly experienced the complexities of human interaction and how volatile human nature could be.
It wasn't until the final battle before death that she truly touched upon the evil of human nature.
"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. Think about the rest yourself; after all, we have plenty of time in the future."
Su Cheng glanced at Ah Yin.
Since she had merged with the Eternal Sword, her overall state had improved significantly.
At least in his presence, even without the True Vision Eye's true vision, he could clearly see her existence. She still couldn't manifest as a tangible soul in front of others, but she was slowly nurturing towards it.
And this wasn't necessarily a bad thing; otherwise, Su Cheng wouldn't dare to easily summon her.
Furthermore, this process didn't solely benefit her; the Eternal Sword was also advancing synchronously with her.
Though progress was slow, it was better than nothing.
"Wait, maybe now I can observe more about her..."
With a thought, Su Cheng slowly infused some of his recovered spiritual power into his brow soul bone.
Accompanied by flickering golden rays, his vision changed.
All irrelevant things gradually faded away, leaving only Ah Yin's stunning figure occupying most of his sight.
As his gaze delved deeper, Ah Yin's image indeed underwent further changes.
The elegant and conservative blue-gold palace dress gradually disappeared from his sight.
Underneath the dress, her fair and delicate body was exposed before Su Cheng's eyes without any concealment.
Her slender waist stretched, her long legs straight and together, without a gap in between.
A pair of jade arms hung naturally on either side of her body, with long, slender, and fair fingers gently curled.
The contrasting snow-white and pale pink colors on her chest formed a vivid contrast, like a plum blossom blooming in the snow, proudly standing on its branches.
Even the distinctive blue-gold hair below exhibited clarity.
The breathtakingly beautiful sight, like a painting, made Su Cheng momentarily stunned.
Then he quickly suppressed his wandering thoughts and further infused spiritual power into the True Sight Pupil, wanting to continue exploring the essence of the Blue Silver Empress' soul.
However, he encountered a significant obstacle in this process, making it difficult for his perception to delve further.
It wasn't because his spiritual power was insufficient.
It was because a strong sense of resistance emanated from her at this moment, preventing him from breaking through that barrier.
Su Cheng speculated inwardly that it was probably due to his previous exhaustion of spiritual power, or perhaps he still hadn't completely gained full autonomy over her.
Realizing he couldn't observe any deeper, he didn't force it and slowly withdrew his spiritual power.
But in the end, he couldn't help but take another glance at her fair and soft body before exiting his previous true vision.
When he withdrew his gaze, he found Ah Yin staring at him with a face full of indignation.
Her face flushed, as if about to bleed.
Obviously, she was not unaware of what had just happened.
"You shameless!" Ah Yin's chest rose and fell gently, her lips trembling slightly. "You're so young, how can you have such filthy thoughts!"
Su Cheng remained expressionless, feeling slightly embarrassed inwardly.
Initially, he indeed didn't have such thoughts; he simply wanted to take this opportunity to see if he could further understand the principles behind her unique existence.
But he hadn't expected to accidentally see something like that.
After a moment's hesitation, he opened his mouth, wanting to explain himself.
"I—"
"What 'I'? I've misjudged you! I thought you were calm and rational, articulate and organized, not someone who would cross the line. I thought you were different from ordinary humans! I didn't expect you to have dirty thoughts and behave obscenely!"
Seeing her reaction, Su Cheng closed his mouth and fell silent, letting her vent her emotions.
Anyway, he hadn't really lost anything now.
Moreover, Ah Yin's vocabulary was extremely limited, and she kept repeating the same few words, which didn't have much impact on him.
...
Shrek Academy.
After having breakfast, several students gathered on the small square of the academy as the bell rang punctually.
Although it hadn't been long since the start of the school year, the new students were relatively familiar with each other by now.
Especially after the events of the past few days, such as the hunting of soul beasts, Tang San, Oscar, and Xiao Wu advancing, Tang San obtaining an additional external spirit bone, and the Titan Ape's ambush, they had gained some understanding of each other.
However, amidst this familiarity, there was a subtle atmosphere of tension, and there seemed to be some distance between them.
Especially after witnessing Tang San's "hidden weapons," although Zhu Zhuqing didn't say anything explicitly, she became increasingly wary of him.
Such things were not supposed to be possessed by someone of Tang San's age, in her opinion.
She believed Tang San, like herself, had the shadow of other forces behind him.
But apart from Tang San and Xiao Wu, who always stuck together, the others were relatively easy to control.
In addition to the students, the teachers were already present on the square.
Zhu Zhuqing noticed that besides the headmaster and deputy headmaster, as well as a few teachers, there was also a new face.
Judging by his level, his cultivation seemed to be lower than hers.
At this moment, Flender arrived in front of the students, his gaze sweeping over the six of them in turn, "Alright, everyone is here. Now, I have something to announce."
With that, he walked to the side of the middle-aged man with a weak aura and put his arm around the man's shoulder.
"This gentleman, let me introduce him carefully to everyone.
"He is the one who, through his research, came up with the ten strongest martial soul rankings, known as the wisest soul master in martial soul theory. He is also Tang San's teacher, Mr. Yu Xiaogang.
"Of course, he is also my old buddy. We've known each other for decades. You might not be familiar with his name, but I believe you've heard of his title. You can call him Master from now on."
Hearing the word "Master," the expressions of the crowd varied. Zhu Zhuqing suddenly realized who he was; she had even read some of his works before.
However, having cultivated the Nirvana Scripture for so long, she didn't think much of the so-called "ten strongest martial soul rankings."
Flender didn't notice the expressions of the students below and continued speaking to himself.
"From today onwards, Master will be fully in charge of your teaching, and we will all cooperate with him.
"You just came back yesterday, and I think you're all quite tired. I'll give you a day off today, and we'll resume classes tomorrow.
"This trip to the Star Dou Forest has resulted in three more people reaching the Soul Grand Master realm. Ma Hongjun, you have to work hard and catch up with the others as soon as possible."
After speaking, he looked at Yu Xiaogang, "Xiaogang, do you have anything to say?"
Yu Xiaogang nodded, his stiff face as usual, looking calmly at the students in front of him, his eyes full of confidence.
"The academy only has six students, and in my opinion, you are also a whole. I have already reviewed your resumes, and I will formulate some targeted teaching methods. Apart from cooperation, I don't want to hear any dissenting voices.
"Whoever it is, I will treat them equally. Since you are students of the Monster Academy, you must stand out from ordinary soul masters. In the future, let everyone only think of you as monsters.
"From now on, you six will no longer be divided into the initial and advanced groups. We will conduct unified teaching."
"In terms of age, I will rank you. Number one, Dai Mubai; number two, Oscar; number three, Tang San; number four, Ma Hongjun; number five, Xiao Wu; number six, Zhu Zhuqing."
Yu Xiaogang's gaze swept over the crowd, "Alright, you can disperse now. Gather here tomorrow morning. Also, I don't want to see anyone absent during breakfast. Otherwise, they will receive special training."
After announcing this, they quickly left.
Watching the teachers leave one after another, Oscar glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, and after receiving her eye signal, he walked to Tang San's side and whispered, "Little San, your teacher seems even more formidable than Headmaster Flender!"
Tang San smiled faintly, "The teacher has always been meticulous in his work. As long as we strictly follow his instructions, there won't be any problems."
He had naturally noticed the eye contact between Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing earlier, but he didn't care much about it.
After receiving guidance from the master, he believed that his strength would quickly surpass everyone present, becoming the true leader of the team.
The next morning, the students of Shrek Academy gathered once again in the small square.
Yu Xiaogang looked at the students in front of him and said solemnly, "I have understood each of your martial souls and abilities. From today onwards, I will conduct strengthening training for you all. Dai Mubai, step forward."
Dai Mubai stepped forward, his expression serious.
He had always respected the teachers of Shrek Academy deeply, and he unquestionably followed their orders.
Zhu Zhuqing was well aware of this, so she had never spoken ill of the academy's teachers in front of him.
Yu Xiaogang looked at the tall figure of Dai Mubai and said, "I'm giving you a task. Starting from now, without causing any serious injuries, defeat each of the other five one by one."
"What?" Dai Mubai was momentarily stunned, looking surprised.
Yu Xiaogang frowned, "You're at level thirty-seven in soul power, while they're at most at level thirty-three. Is there a problem?"
Dai Mubai turned his head, his gaze flickering as he looked at Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San.
Regarding Zhu Zhuqing, aside from whether he could defeat her or not, he really didn't want to lay a hand on her.
And Tang San's strength also made him uncertain; he had already witnessed the incredible power of Tang San's hidden weapons in the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Tang San, step forward." The master's voice rang out again.
Tang San immediately stepped forward and stood beside Dai Mubai.
Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San and said, "You're not allowed to use your special weapons. You may begin."
The confrontation between the two did not last long, as Dai Mubai was quickly restrained by Tang San's Blue Silver Grass martial soul enhanced by his third soul skill, resulting in his defeat.
Yu Xiaogang walked up to them, looking at Dai Mubai who wore a somewhat dejected expression.
"Every soul master has their own strengths and weaknesses. It's normal for power attackers to be restrained by control-type soul masters. There are no perfect soul masters in this world, but there are perfect teams.
"An individual's strength cannot reach absolute heights, but a team can achieve perfection through tacit cooperation. By complementing each other's abilities, you can face any type of enemy.
"You are a whole. When facing enemies together, the first thing you need to do is to compensate for each other's shortcomings and fully utilize each person's strengths. Then, you will become invincible among your peers."
After saying this, the battles between the other team members also began.
After one round of battles,
Except for Zhu Zhuqing, who won against Dai Mubai and Tang San, and even defeated the combination of Oscar and Ma Hongjun three times, the others each had their wins and losses.
As the battles came to an end, Yu Xiaogang's expression turned slightly grim.
"So, these are the so-called monstrous geniuses? I'm disappointed in your performance today. Each of you has committed unforgivable mistakes.
"Now, all of you will receive punishment. Run forward, supervise each other, and refrain from using soul power. I want you to run from the academy to Soto City and back again before lunch, completing ten round trips. You will only eat when you finish running.
"Tang San, your mistake is the most severe, so you will run twelve round trips. Start immediately."
Tang San was the first to run out, and Yu Xiaogang's words were no different from commands to him.
Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun quickly followed.
"At the entrance of the academy, there are rocks prepared. Each of you will carry one and run. Remember, you are a team. If one person fails to complete the punishment, then no one will eat."
Just as they were about to start, they heard Yu Xiaogang emphasize one more thing.
Seeing the figures of Tang San and the others running out, Zhu Zhuqing remained expressionless, pondering silently.
"Why aren't you running?"
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang's cold voice rang out.
It was clearly directed at Zhu Zhuqing, who hadn't moved.
"Why should I run?"
Zhu Zhuqing was somewhat surprised at the question, looking up at him.
"I said that all of you will receive punishment."
"I won."
Yu Xiaogang said calmly, "I'm asking you, what are they to you?"
"Classmates."
"There's a saying, 'sharing joys and sorrows together.' Have you heard of it? You are companions. Do you think you should watch them be punished while you rest?"
"Of course, they deserve the punishment, but I won. So, I can rest." Zhu Zhuqing said indifferently, "If you want everyone to be punished together, you should have made it clear beforehand. Haven't you heard of the saying, 'To kill without teaching is called tyranny'?"
Yu Xiaogang's expression grew even more grim.
Upon hearing the commotion, the others also stopped in their tracks and turned to look.
Dai Mubai looked anxious, not wanting conflict between Zhu Zhuqing and the academy's teacher.
Ma Hongjun was curious, secretly giving a thumbs-up to the new big sister he had just met.
Oscar appeared pensive, lost in thought.
Tang San furrowed his brow, feeling uncomfortable with Zhu Zhuqing's defiance towards the master, who was akin to a father figure to him.
Only Xiao Wu remained indifferent.
After a moment of silence, Yu Xiaogang spoke again, "Since the academy appointed me as your teacher, you shouldn't disobey my orders."
"So, this is your method of education? I see now. When there's no reason, you resort to tyranny. It seems that's all there is to it."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded calmly.
"Dean Flender has reached the rank of Soul Saint and is my senior on the path of cultivation. I have no problem listening to him.
"So, may I ask this 'master,' what qualifications do you have with a soul power level below thirty? Just because of the title 'academy teacher'?
"You didn't even clarify the rules beforehand, and now you want me, a student who hasn't made any mistakes, to accept punishment alongside them? Do you think you're justified?"
The others looked at Zhu Zhuqing's words and actions in astonishment, feeling a chill run down their spines.
They were not very old, nor were they pampered children. Where had they seen such a direct confrontation with a teacher?
Zhu Zhuqing remained unfazed, feeling somewhat amused.
She had been thinking of how to "skip class" earlier, even considering using this person, who had been praised by the dean, to establish her own authority. However, the other party had simply handed her the opportunity on a silver platter.
She stayed at this academy for Dai Mubai's White Tiger martial soul and didn't want to waste time like this.
Running with rocks was simply foolish; she would rather spend this time practicing the Nirvana Scripture.
As for people like Dean Flender, Zhu Zhuqing wasn't worried.
After spending these days in the academy, she had gained some understanding of the teachers. As long as they were on the same side, behaving like this to persuade them with reason and evidence wouldn't anger them.
She wasn't being unreasonable; everything she said was well-grounded.
"In my opinion, you can't teach me."
Seeing that the other party remained silent, Zhu Zhuqing continued, "How about this, 'master.' I'll give you three months to prove yourself. If, after three months, you can make Tang San defeat me, or any one of them defeat me, I'll follow your teachings, even if it means using his strange weapons."
At this moment, Dean Flender, who had silently approached Yu Xiaogang, heard her words and was somewhat stunned.
He had originally wanted to say something to smooth things over, but after seeing the grim expression on Yu Xiaogang's face, he remained silent.
Another day passed at Shrek Academy.